The Slytherin Snake
by Southern Steel
Summary: One-shot sequal to "Corrupted Sorcery." Merlin, Arthur, and the knights are at the tavern celebrating the defeat of Morgana when Gwaine brings up a topic none had thought of in the aftermath of the battle. "Wha' e're happened to tha' man?"


**_IF _YOU_ HAVE NOT READ MY STORY "Corrupted Sorcery" THEN DO NOT READ THIS ONE-SHOT OR YOU WILL NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT ON EARTH IS HAPPENING. _**

**_ Now, if you have read my story "Corrupted Sorcery" then this is the sequal-of sorts-to it. In "Corrupted Sorcery" _LovetoWrite_ left me a review that pointed out my use of the name "Salazar" as being from Harry Potter. I did, in fact, get the name from Harry Potter and always intended it to be the actual Salazar Slytherin, though I didn't state it simply because it wasn't a true crossover...perhaps someday. _**

**_ Then, _lozzabluebell_ reviewed wondering if I would ever do a sequal. At the time, I had no intention of doing so, but this little one-shot idea would not leave me alone and, as it does continue directly from "Corrupted Sorcery" this story is the sorta-sequal. :) _**

**_ One final note, I don't drink myself and have never been around any drunk people. All I know is what I have seen in movies and, as movies tend to not be entirely accurate, I did my best at portraying how I think drunk people act. I mean no disrespect to anyone who drinks, I just want to make that very clear. Also, I hope it's not to difficult to read, I tried to get the words slurred as well as I could through writing. _**

**_ If you're still reading this super long author's note, then I hope you enjoy the story. :) _**

**_Disclaimer: Merlin does not belong to me and neither does Salazar Slytherin. I write this entirely for my own, and hopefully others, amusement. _**

* * *

_The Slytherin Snake_

Three days had passed since Merlin's enchantment and Morgana's attack on Camelot, an attack that had resulted in Merlin revealing his powers and killing Morgana. Arthur, Gwen, and the knights knew everything now and, though they still had a hard time believing _Merlin_ of all people was so powerful, they had all accepted him for who he was and what he had done.

The two days that had passed had been spent burying the dead. Despite protests from the people, Arthur had buried his half-sister algonside Gorlois, the only true father she had ever known. "She may have been evil," he told all who had questioned him, "But she was still my sister and she deserves a decent burial."

Repairs had already begun on the parts of the castle and Arthur had already passed one law allowing magic back into Camelot. It was this law that had brought Arthur, Merlin, and the knights to the Rising Sun tavern. It had been Gwaine's idea to celebrate Merlin's freedom, much to the warlock's embarassment. For once, Arthur had refused to allow Merlin to back out of a trip to the tavern and so manservant was drug to the tavern. Several hours and who-knows how many mugs of ale later, and the seven men were the only ones left in the tavern save the bartender.

Silence had fallen over the group and it almost seemed as if they had fallen asleep until Gwaine spoke up.

"What ev'r happun'd to..." Gwaine paused to hiccup. "...to that man?"

"Wha' man?" Arthur slurred.

"The man who was w'th Morgana." Gwaine replied, frowning into his mug.

"Yo' me..." Merlin hiccuped, his words slurring together worse then Gwaine and Arthur. "Yo' mean Sal'zar?"

It took the group a few moments to translate "Sal'zar" as "Salazar", but once they did they nodded enthusiastically. None, it seemed, had paid any mind to the man who had fought alongside Morgana or, if they had, they had put it out of their minds in favor of working on the cities repair.

"Sal...a...zar." Arthur repeated, slowly, brow wrinkling in concentration.

"Don' hur' you'self, A'thu'." Merlin laughed, the ale clearly having gone to his head more than any of the others, which was quite an accomplishment. "Yo'..." he hiccuped. "Yo' kno' wha' thinking does to yo'."

"I am qui'e ab'e to think, _Mer_lin." Arthur retorted only slightly less slurred. "I was jus' thinking, wha' kind of name is Sal...a...zar." He still said the name slowly.

"Wha' happene' to 'im?" Gwaine interrupted, clearly upset at having the conversation gearing away from his original topic.

"Who..." Merlin hiccuped once more and started laughing uncontrollably. "Who ca'es?"

"A'thur's righ'." Elyan commented. "Wha' kind of name is Sal'zar?"

"It sounds like a..." Percival cut off to laugh at what he was about to say. "Like a type o' sna...snake."

"A snake?" Leon, the least drunk of them all, repeated questioningly. Percival nodded slowly, eyes blinking as the movement seemed to dizzy him. Leon thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. "He did look like a snake, didn' he."

"A slytherin' snake!" Gwaine exclaimed, a not-so-manly giggle escaping.

"Sal'zar the slyth'rin snake!" Merlin repeated, his laughter threatening to bow him over.

"Sal'zar the snake." Arthur clarified, trying to keep a straight face, but he soon gave in and began laughing as well.

"Sal'zar the slytherin!" Merlin managed to gasp out.

"Sal'zar slytherin!" Gwaine laughed.

The seven men all gave in to laughter, their voices loud and ringing throughout the empty inn. It was only a few minutes before the King, his future court sorcerer, and his most loyal knights were all passed out on the floor of the Rising Sun tavern.

From his place at the bar, the owner rolled his eyes in a mixture of annoyance and amusement. He finished wiping down the final glasses and took a last glance at the men that lay sleeping on the floor. He rolled his eyes and blew out the candles, muttering under his breath.

"Salazar Slytherin indeed."


End file.
